I have always thought so. But my girlfriend, who is much smarter than I am, says otherwise, suggesting that cereals and starches and such are in a different category than vegetables. Unfortunately my knowledge of botany is too limited for fruitful (no pun intended) investigation.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
My understanding is that a vegetable is any plant or plant part that is eaten.
Your girlfriend seems to have a narrower definition.
Well, corn, aka Maize, is a grain.
But potatos are a vegetable.
“Starches” are not a recognized botanical term, but fad dieters aren’t subject to anybody’s rules–except those of the conartists who come up with the fad diets, that is. :rolleyes:
I don’t think “vegetable” is a botanical term, either. To a botanist, it’s a fruit, seed, root, leaf, etc.
Straight Dope Staff Reports: What’s the difference between fruits and vegetables? and Are strawberries fruits? The seeds are on the outside, not the inside
So where do legumes (beans) fit in here?
In the botanical sense they are the fruiting body of a plant and legumes are fruits. In the culinary sense they are vegetables.
In the botanical sense if there was a flower involved before the item was produced then it’s a fruit.
Someone once defined a culinary vegetable as something eaten with cream or ice-cream and a culinary vegetable as something eaten with gravy. Not a perfect definition but it works most times.